Ahahaha…
We discovered our way to the prison.
Thanks to this young hag.
She knows all the paths here.
Girishika was running in front of me, guiding me toward the prison chambers.
Thank God I have her with me.
If this keeps going, we can save Mala. Yippee.
Suddenly, Girishika stopped.
Huh?
[Pratik]: What happened?
[Girishika]: Looks like we are lost.
What?
Excuse me?
Yes. We've been running in the same place three times.
This hag trapped me.
[Girishika]: Hahaha… looks like those maggots tried to trap us—and looks like they were successful.
How can you say that so confidently?
A strong urge to kick her away was born inside me, but I controlled myself. For now.
[Girishika]: Hey kiddo, give me some water. I'm thirsty. I've worked a lot today because of yo—
I finally gave her a chop on her head.
This girl is a genius.
She can find a thousand ways to annoy me.
I grabbed her shoulders and shook them violently.
[Pratik]: My friend is in danger, you understand? Please be serious.
These days I'm losing my temper so fast.
Thanks to this brat. Or maybe hag.
[Girishika]: You surely are annoying.
That should be my dialogue.
Well, whatever. We were actually inside the prison sector.
However, the paths are shaped like a dome.
*
The dragoling soldiers of Kankaar Society were guarding the outside of the prison sector.
Pratik and Girishika had managed to pass through them and entered the prison quite a while ago.
However, now they were lost inside it.
Inside one of the secret rooms, many soldiers were gossiping about the upcoming war.
[Soldier 1]: Hahaha… it's obvious that we, the Kankaar Society, will emerge victorious.
[Soldier 2]: Indeed. Societies like Gem Society are destined to fall. It's nothing new.
All the soldiers started laughing.
Suddenly, the sound of the roof cracking echoed above them.
The soldiers looked up to see a small scratch spreading across it.
Huh?
Then the entire roof collapsed.
And along with it came two chaotic buddies.
Or maybe enemies.
[Pratik]: Hey! I told you the floor was weak!
[Girishika]: How would I know, idiot?!
[Pratik]: Yes indeed, I expected a lot from someone like you. I am indeed an idiot.
They were trash-talking while a few soldiers who escaped the collapse stared at them, dumbfounded.
Pratik and Girishika scanned the surroundings with wide, cartoonish eyes.
[Pratik]: Hehehe… looks like we got lost.
[Soldier 5]: What are you doing here??!!
Hearing that loud question, Girishika suddenly started crying.
[Girishika]: Nahanaha… they are shouting at me, daddy.
What—she's acting? Wait. She made Pratik the daddy in this role?
[Pratik]: We were lost here, sir. This is my daughter, Giri. I am Pratenmio.
[Soldier 6]: You are her father?! But you look so young.
What is their problem?
[Pratik]: You see, I eat good food, do healthy exercises and… and sleep a lot.
[Girishika]: Yes, daddy is a sleepyhead. He eats all the food and does exercise for 25 hours a day.
That's exaggeration to the max.
Pratik just sighed.
The soldiers looked at them suspiciously.
[Soldier 5]: You mean you were roaming inside the prison with your daughter?
[Pratik]: That's right, sir!
Pratik, unknown to the soldier's sarcasm, said that cheerfully.
Pratik doesn't exactly look like a dragoling, but mutations among dragolings aren't that rare.
[Soldier 6]: Soldiers! They are trespassers! Catch them!
Pratik started running at full speed, Girishika right behind him.
*
[Girishika]: This is your bad acting! That's why we're being chased!
More like her bad planning.
[Pratik]: Stop it already and run!
We ran left.
The soldiers followed.
We ran right.
They followed right.
We ran upward.
They followed upward.
We ran down.
They followed down.
He ran randomly.
The soldiers shattered formation.
We united at one point and sprinted, while the soldiers crashed into each other and passed out for a while.
We were not stopping.
Not now. Not anytime soon.
We kept running for hours before reaching the deepest part of the prison.
The prison wasn't located that deep.
It's just that we ran on the same floor for more than two hours.
Suddenly, we heard footsteps approaching.
Hiding wouldn't help.
This prison was huge.
Too huge.
Girishika tensed up.
She was sweating bullets.
The person walked near the prison cells.
He saw us.
We saw him.
It was Wedgermio.
[Wedgermio]: Oh my… if it isn't Princess Girishika.
Her face turned pale for a moment.
Even my heart started beating rapidly.
[Girishika]: Pratik… you go forward. I will deal with him for you.
She said it while looking down.
[Pratik]: Stop saying that. I'm not leav—
[Girishika]: Stop that and leave before I slap you! I said I will deal with him!
She screamed at me.
I'm not leaving her.
But I came here for Mala…
And I can't let Girishika sacrifice herself either.
What should I do?
After thinking calmly, I ran inside the prison, leaving her behind.
She's a range shiftling user too.
I don't want her fighting that freak.
Even if she stalls him for a few seconds and escapes, that's fine with me.
Just after I entered the prison, I could hear explosions and landslides.
I closed my eyes, hoping she wouldn't get hurt.
After passing through one last gate, I finally reached her.
Mala.
She was lying unconscious on the floor.
She looked weak.
It made my blood boil.
But I couldn't do anything right now.
Her wounds were mostly healed, so that's fine.
Her condition isn't critical.
I carefully picked Mala up and started running toward the secret path.
I don't know this route fully.
But I once heard soldiers discussing its existence.
It most likely leads to a river that later joins Gem Society territory.
It's a secret path.
Obviously, there are no soldiers guarding it.
Even if someone shows up, I can use Shadow Gutter Technique to hide myself in darkness.
After some time, I reached the exit without facing anyone.
Lila was waiting near the river.
I contacted her through telepathy as soon as I learned about this path.
She saw me and rushed forward.
I handed Mala to her and immediately turned back toward the prison.
[Lila]: Wait! Where are you going?!
[Pratik]: Someone needs my help.
[Lila]: That's not our mission!
[Pratik]: Exactly. That's my mission. You go back. I'll return. I promise.
Without turning back, I ran into the prison again.
After running for a while, I reached the place where I parted from Girishika.
I can't leave her behind.
I'm the sole reason she's here.
I can't throw her life into danger for my own greed.
I stopped.
The fight was still going on.
Girishika, despite how she behaves, is actually a brilliant fighter.
But Wedgermio isn't some rookie either.
He was giving her a very hard fight.
[Pratik]: Girishika! I'm here to help you!
I said while backing her up.
[Girishika]: That wasn't necessary.
[Pratik]: Fine. I'll leave then.
[Girishika]: Sorry, I was just joking. You can't leave me again. You can surely help me out.
I wasn't going to leave her anyway.
Even if she asked.
I'm here for her after all.
She told me they both hadn't used their Range Shiftlings yet.
Range Shiftling consumes a great amount of Dark Energy Reserves.
Not extremely great—but for dragolings, who usually have far less Dark Energy than Earth sorcerers, it's significant.
Girishika herself can use Range Shiftling at most twice a day.
I have no idea about Wedgermio.
I started helping her by using Shadow Gutter to slow Wedgermio's movements, occasionally striking with Magic Hammer to keep him occupied while she prepared her next attack.
I thought we could win easily.
Even if Wedgermio activates his Range Shiftling—Attack Reversal or whatever it was—we can step outside the range or use weaker attacks for the time being.
He has only one Range Shiftling.
Thinking that was my grave mistake.
All my hopes shattered when I heard his words.
[Wedgermio]: Range Shiftling: Energy Absorption.